diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index e113ca5..33b3f9d 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io/fs"
 	"io/ioutil"
+	"log"
 	"os"
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -22,12 +23,15 @@ import (
 )
 
 var targetDirectory string
+var localManifest string
 var scaffold string
 var noInteraction bool
+var inputFile string
 
 func getScaffoldsKeys() []string {
+	scaffolds, _ := internal.GetScaffolds(localManifest)
 	var ret []string
-	for k := range internal.GetScaffolds() {
+	for k := range scaffolds {
 		ret = append(ret, k)
 	}
 	sort.Strings(ret)
@@ -35,11 +39,15 @@ func getScaffoldsKeys() []string {
 }
 
 func selectScaffold(scaffold *string) error {
+	scaffolds, err := internal.GetScaffolds(localManifest)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 	prompt := survey.Select{
 		Message: "Select a scaffold to run",
 		Options: getScaffoldsKeys(),
 		Description: func(value string, index int) string {
-			return internal.GetScaffolds()[value].ShortDescription
+			return scaffolds[value].ShortDescription
 		},
 	}
 
@@ -53,7 +61,12 @@ var RootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Long:  `Lagoon scaffold will pull a new site and fill in the details`,
 	RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
-		scaffolds := internal.GetScaffolds()
+		scaffolds, err := internal.GetScaffolds(localManifest)
+
+		if err != nil {
+			fmt.Println(err)
+			os.Exit(1)
+		}
 
 		if scaffold == "" && noInteraction {
 			return errors.New("Please select a scaffold")
@@ -107,7 +120,23 @@ var RootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 			return err
 		}
 
-		values, err := internal.RunFromSurveyQuestions(questions, !noInteraction)
+		var values interface{}
+
+		if inputFile == "" {
+			values, err = internal.RunFromSurveyQuestions(questions, !noInteraction)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Fatalf("Error running survey: %v", err)
+			}
+		} else { // we're going to attempt to load these values from the file
+			yamlFile, err := ioutil.ReadFile(inputFile)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Fatalf("Error reading YAML file: %v", err)
+			}
+			err = yaml.Unmarshal(yamlFile, &values)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Fatalf("Error parsing YAML file: %v", err)
+			}
+		}
 
 		if err = processTemplates(values, tDir); err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -225,8 +254,9 @@ var listCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Long:    "Lists all currently supported Lagoon scaffolds",
 	Example: "lagoon-init-prot list",
 	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		scaffolds, _ := internal.GetScaffolds(localManifest)
 		fmt.Println("We currently support the following:")
-		for pagage := range internal.GetScaffolds() {
+		for pagage := range scaffolds {
 			fmt.Println(pagage)
 		}
 	},
@@ -237,6 +267,8 @@ func init() {
 	RootCmd.PersistentFlags().StringVar(&scaffold, "scaffold", "", "Which scaffold to pull into directory")
 	RootCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&noInteraction, "no-interaction", false, "Don't interactively fill in any values for the scaffold - use defaults")
 	RootCmd.Flags().StringVar(&targetDirectory, "targetdir", "./", "Directory to check out project into - defaults to current directory")
+	RootCmd.Flags().StringVar(&localManifest, "manifest", "", "Custom local manifest file for scaffold list - defaults to an empty string")
+	RootCmd.Flags().StringVar(&inputFile, "values", "", "A Yaml file that provides defaults/answers for a scaffold - can be used in automation")
 }
 
 func Execute() {
diff --git a/internal/manifest.go b/internal/manifest.go
index 450f5ed..2b26e8e 100644
--- a/internal/manifest.go
+++ b/internal/manifest.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v2"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"net/http"
+	"os"
 )
 
 const manifestUrl = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/uselagoon/lagoon-scaffold/main/internal/assets/scaffolds.yml"
@@ -76,8 +77,25 @@ func remapScaffoldLoader(loader *ScaffoldLoader) map[string]ScaffoldRepo {
 	return remapped
 }
 
-func GetScaffolds() map[string]ScaffoldRepo {
-	return resolveScaffolds(manifestUrl)
+func GetScaffolds(localmanifest string) (map[string]ScaffoldRepo, error) {
+
+	if localmanifest != "" { // we try load up a manifest given locally
+		// try open and read the file
+
+		loader := &ScaffoldLoader{
+			Scaffolds: make([]ScaffoldRepo, 0),
+		}
+		dat, err := os.ReadFile(localmanifest)
+		err = yaml.Unmarshal(dat, loader)
+		if err != nil {
+			return map[string]ScaffoldRepo{}, err
+		}
+
+		return remapScaffoldLoader(loader), nil
+
+	}
+
+	return resolveScaffolds(manifestUrl), nil
 }
 
 type ScaffoldRepo struct {
diff --git a/internal/manifest_test.go b/internal/manifest_test.go
index c62a6b5..72e01da 100644
--- a/internal/manifest_test.go
+++ b/internal/manifest_test.go
@@ -44,3 +44,43 @@ func Test_resolveScaffolds(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestGetScaffolds(t *testing.T) {
+	type args struct {
+		localmanifest string
+	}
+	tests := []struct {
+		name    string
+		args    args
+		want    map[string]ScaffoldRepo
+		wantErr bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "Test 1 - Passing manifest file manually",
+			args: args{
+				localmanifest: "./testassets/manifest_test_1.yml",
+			},
+			want: map[string]ScaffoldRepo{
+				"test1": {
+					Name:             "test1",
+					GitRepo:          "https://github.com/lagoon-examples/test1.git",
+					Branch:           "test1_branch",
+					Description:      "test1_description",
+					ShortDescription: "test1_shortDescription",
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got, err := GetScaffolds(tt.args.localmanifest)
+			if (err != nil) != tt.wantErr {
+				t.Errorf("GetScaffolds() error = %v, wantErr %v", err, tt.wantErr)
+				return
+			}
+			if !reflect.DeepEqual(got, tt.want) {
+				t.Errorf("GetScaffolds() got = %v, want %v", got, tt.want)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/testassets/manifest_test_1.yml b/internal/testassets/manifest_test_1.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b86c26b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/testassets/manifest_test_1.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+scaffolds:
+  - name: test1
+    git_repo: https://github.com/lagoon-examples/test1.git
+    branch: test1_branch
+    description: test1_description
+    shortDescription: test1_shortDescription